In the log this week
* ARRL Requests Amateurs Contact Representatives About Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act
* NOAA SWFO-L1 Space Weather Satellite Successfully Launched
* QRP Labs Announces Pre-Orders for Morserino M32 Pocket
* Equatorial Guinea DXpedition Updates From YL2GM
* MVARC Breakfast Tomorrow 9/27/2025
* MVARC Participating in Masonic Lodges On The Air Tomorrow 9/27/2025
* MVARC Member David KU8V Has Some Epic POTA Activations
* MVARC Nets on the Air
* What’s happening with DX?
* Solar Activity Update
* Upcoming Contests
* Interesting Online Radio Content
ARRL Requests Amateurs Contact Representatives About Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act
Image Courtesy: United_States_Capitol_-west_front.jpg: Architect of the Capitol derivative work: O.J. - United_States_Capitol-_west_front.jpg, Public Domain, Link
The American Radio Relay League is asking American amateur radio operators to contact their representatives and senators in support of the “Amateur Radio Emergency Preparedness Act”. The legislation seeks to give amateur radio operators rights equal to users of antennas for broadcast television, wireless internet, and flagpoles. The bills, H.R. 1094 in the House of Representatives and S.459 in the Senate seek to prevent overly restrictive homeowner’s association (HOA) regulations that prohibit the installation of antennas, even when placed inconspicuously. The ARRL asks that all amateur radio operators go to https://send-a-letter.org/hoa/ which will allow for a letter to be sent on your behalf to your Representative and Senators. More information can be found at
http://www.arrl.org/member-bulletin?issue=2025-09-17
https://www.arrl.org/current-legislation
NOAA SWFO-L1 Space Weather Satellite Successfully Launched
Image Courtesy: NOAA - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Public Domain, Link
Wednesday morning at 7:32 AM Eastern Time NOAA’s Space Weather Follow On - Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) satellite was launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. SWFO-L1’s mission is to monitor solar storms from Lagrange Point 1 nearly a million miles from Earth. Lagrange points are points where gravitational forces are at equilibrium. Being at this location will allow the satellite to continuously monitor solar wind and energetic particles on their way to Earth. It will also have a compact coronagraph (CCOR) capable of imaging coronal mass ejections. This new satellite will ensure continued ability to monitor the sun, as the existing satellites at Lagrange Point 1 are already past their design lifetimes. NOAA reported Wednesday that the satellite was already successfully sending telemetry and is on track to reach Lagrange Point 1 in January 2026 and begin operations in mid-2026. More information can be found at https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/news/swfo-l1-successfully-launched.
QRP Labs Announces Pre-Orders for Morserino M32 Pocket
Willi OE1WKL and Hans G0UPL announced that the long-awaited update to the Morserino morse code practice device is now available for pre-order from QRP Labs. The Morserino is an open source hardware device that acts as a keyer, trainer, decoder, and in some instances a non-conventional transceiver. Previous versions were available as a kit. Due to the microcontroller platform it used having been discontinued, it had become unavailable. The community that maintains Morserino put in significant work to develop a new version called the M32 Pocket. Available for pre-order now from QRP Labs it is a fully assembled device and is a much more compact form factor than the original. I have built one of the original version and enjoyed using it to improve my CW skills. It is great to see the new version getting back on the market. For more information about the Morserino M32 Pocket and to pre-order visit https://qrp-labs.com/morserino.html.
Equatorial Guinea DXpedition Updates From YL2GM
Image Courtesy NordNordWest, Licence: Creative Commons by-sa-3.0 de
Shortly after we went to press last week there was an update from Yuris YL2GM that gave his side of the story of the ill-fated DXpedition to Equitorial Guinea for 3C0W and 3C3W. According to Yuris there were travel complications getting to Annobon, but they eventually got there. One of the license requirements was that equipment and antennas needed to be inspected by an ORTEL representative before they could go on the air, and the inspector was to fly in for this purpose. While waiting for the inspector they went to the police station to register and show documents and were told that they didn’t have an entry permit from the Ministry of Security and were made to leave their luggage at the police station. After a few days with no progress they decided to return to Malabo and booked a flight for Friday, September 12th and then the authorities said Wednesday there was a flight that day and that a hotel had been arranged for them. Instead another police unit took them to the police station in Malabo where they were held. The next day the ORTEL representative arrived with documents, license, and the equipment and said all was in order. Their violation was apparently arriving without the ORTEL representative, and they were not sympathetic to their travel issues. Eventually they were allowed to leave and do not plan to return. The story from Yuris can be found at https://www.dx-world.net/story-of-3c3w-and-3c0w-dxpedition/.
Another DXpedition to Equitorial Guinea, 3C2MD, announced on September 24, 2025 that they would be postponing their DXpedition due to the continued suspension of amateur radio licenses stemming from the 3C0W DXpedition. More information about that postponement can be found at https://www.dx-world.net/3c2md-equatorial-guinea/.
MVARC Breakfast Tomorrow 9/27/2025
Tomorrow, Saturday, September 27, 2025, is the date of our next monthly breakfast. As usual we will meet up at 8 AM in the IHOP at 7694 Richmond Highway in Alexandria, Virginia for great conversation, camaraderie, and breakfast too. We have been having a great turn out in the last few months and there is always room for you to join in the fun. We hope to see you there.
MVARC Participating in Masonic Lodges On The Air Tomorrow 9/27/2025
Tomorrow following the MVARC Breakfast MVARC will be participating in Masonic Lodges On The Air (MLotA) event. MVARC is being hosted by Mount Vernon Lodge No. 219 A.F. and A.M at 8117 Fort Hunt Road, Alexandria, VA 22308. Many of the folks going to the breakfast that morning plan on going directly from there to the Mount Vernon Lodge to set-up and the event itself runs from 10 AM to 6 PM Eastern Time. We expect to start at 10 and encourage everyone to stop by and join in the fun. Contest rules and frequently asked questions can be found at https://cqmorelight.com/.
MVARC Member David KU8V Has Some Epic POTA Activations
Image Courtesy David KU8V
David KU8V recently took a trip up to Delaware to US-1734 Delaware Seashore State Park and had absolutely stunning results. On Monday he limited himself to 20 watts and ended up with 116 QSOs with 24 DXCC Entities, 23 States, and 3 Provinces.
David’s Contacts on Monday
On Tuesday using his Icom IC-7300 and Chelegance MC-750 antenna and 100 Watts he got 330 contacts with 32 DXCC Entities, 34 States, and 5 Provinces on 5 bands including the incredibly rare DX of ZD9BV in Tristan de Cuhna island (the most remote inhabited place on Earth where only one Amateur lives). David also got Australia, Israel, Poland, Hungary, and a ton of Europe.
David’s Contacts on Tuesday
Congratulations David! What an absolutely epic activation. If you have adventures you’d like to share, drop me a line and I may be able to add them to a future Amateur Radio News and Notes.
MVARC Nets on the Air
* 2 Meter FM Net: Tuesdays at 7 PM [146.655/- MHz (141.3 Hz PL Tone) ]
* 2 Meter Digital Net: Immediately Follows 2 Meter FM Net [146.655/- MHz C4FM]
* MVARC Slow Speed CW Roundtable: Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 AM [3.565 MHz CW]
* MVARC Cherry Tree Net: Saturday and Sunday at 8:30 AM [3.920 MHz LSB]
What’s Happening with DX
There will be a good amount of DX on the bands this week including the Federated States of Micronesia (V6D), Marcus Island Minami Tori Shima Islands (JG8NQJ/JD1), Bhutan (A52G), Colombia (HK3JCL), Mali (TZ4AM), Kuwait (9K2HN), Solomon Islands (H44MS), and Antarctica (DP0GVN).
A calendar of DXpeditions can be found at https://dxnews.com/calendar/
Solar Activity Update
As we go to press the Solar Flux Index (SFI) was 170 and the estimated sunspot number was 155 with 10 numbered sunspot regions visible from Earth. Over the last week the SFI has increased. Solar activity has been at low levels recently. The geomagnetic field was at quiet to unsettled levels and the Kp index reached 3 yesterday. The solar wind peaked at 548 km/s. Solar activity is predicted low with geomagnetic activity at quiet levels today, at quiet to unsettled levels tomorrow, and at quiet to active levels on Sunday. The chance of solar radiation storms at the S1 or greater level is low at 1% today through Sunday. R1 to R2 radio blackouts are possible in the near term with a predicted probability of 35% through Sunday. R3 or greater blackouts are unlikely with a 1% chance predicted today through Sunday. There is a chance of 6 meter propagation so keep an eye on the band and spotting clusters to be ready for the next time the magic band does its thing. HF conditions have been quite good lately with the higher bands opening on most days. It remains a fantastic time for amateurs to get on the air and work the world.
Good sources of real-time solar information include https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/ and https://solarham.com/. A good overview of conditions can be found at https://dx.qsl.net/propagation/. To see D-layer absorption data and associated radio blackouts, visit https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/d-region-absorption-predictions-d-rap. To see real-time Maximum Usable Frequency (MUF) and Critical Frequency (foF2) information from radiosonde data, visit https://prop.kc2g.com/.
Upcoming Contests
On the contest calendar this weekend we will see the CQ Worldwide DX Contest on RTTY, the Bill Windle QSO Party, the YU DX Contest, the Maine QSO Party, the AGCW VHF/UHF Contest, Masonic Lodges on the Air, the AWA Amplitude Modulation QSO Party, and the UBA ON Contest on 6 meters. As always the K1USN SSTs, MSTs, and CWTs will also be on the air.
The full contest calendar with events and exchanges can be found at https://www.contestcalendar.com/weeklycont.php
Interesting Online Radio Content
Walt K4OGO talks about his favorite antennas with telescoping elements -
Hayden VK7HH shows how to test antennas with a NanoVNA -
Kevin W1DED and the Contest Crew talk with Levi K6JO about his performance in the WAE contest -
Matt M0DQW looks at the Radtel RT-950 Pro -
Mike K8MRD Activates a Rove with Sean W9FFF and Aaron AE0LZ -
Hayden VK7HH uses a NanoVNA to test coaxial cable -
Kevin W1DED talks to Kylee KE0WPA about her growth in the hobby -
Mike K8MRD tells us his 10 favorite features of the Yaesu FTX-1F -
Steve KM9G repairs a Yaesu FT-8800 -
Mike K8MRD goes car camping and activates POTA in Arkansas -
Josh KI6NAZ talks about whether amateur radio is “pay to win” -
Forrest KI7QCF talks about his CW “10 Essentials” -
Tim K5OHY builds and tests a half-square antenna -
Walt K4OGO builds and tests a half-square antenna -
George VK2AOE freshens up his Yaesu FT101E -
Kevin W1DED is interviewed by his wife about his re-entry into amateur radio -
Sean W9FFF builds a Hermes Lite 2 SDR -
Kevin KB9RLW builds an off-grid laptop power supply with low RFI -
Evan K2EJT gives us his thoughts on the new Xiegu CW keys -
Vince VE6LK asks Eric WD8RIF what he’d tell his younger self about amateur radio -
That’s it for this week.
Best 73,
Ed
N2EC
